Syrian militants advancing towards Hama city have failed to take control of Zein Al Abideen mountain, after clashes with government forces.
The setback for the insurgents came after Syrian troops launched a counter-attack with aerial support yesterday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The army was able to “expand the security zone of the city [Hama] by about 20km” after attacking militants and destroying their vehicles, the official Syrian news agency reported.
Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and allied factions faced more counter-attacks from government forces when they reached the gates of Syria's fourth largest city, state media and the observatory said. government forces retook the villages of Kafraa and Maarshahour, keeping militants about 10km from Hama city.
Military reinforcements and National Defence Forces arrived on the front lines in the northern, eastern and western countryside of Hama, with gunmen from villages on the outskirts of Hama city, the observatory said.
“We were forced to retreat under heavy enemy bombardment by air,” said Abu Al Qaqaa, a militia commander in the area. A source described the failure to capture Zein Al Abideen as a setback for the insurgent advance on Hama.
On Tuesday, the militants reached the gates of Hama city and shelled some neighbourhoods. People were displaced from villages in northern and western parts of the province because of the sudden escalation of violence.
After four years of relative calm, the Islamist-led territory in the north in an attack that has escalated the violence in the country and displaced about 50,000 people. Syrian and the Russian air force have launched air strikes and missiles on the north-western province of Idlib, killing and injuring “dozens of terrorists and destroying their vehicles and weapons”, the Syrian Defence Ministry said.
On Wednesday, Russia said that it strongly backed the actions of the Syrian government to counter the insurgency by what it said were groups receiving support, including drones and training, from outside the country.
“We strongly condemn this attack. There is no doubt that they would not have dared to commit such an audacious act without the instigation and comprehensive support of external forces that seek to provoke a new round of armed confrontation in Syria,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Russia is a crucial ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and has provided him with military support since 2015 in the country's civil war. “We express solidarity with the leadership of Syria,” Ms Zakharova said. “We strongly support the efforts of the Syrian authorities to counter terrorist groups and restore constitutional order.”
Recent advances by Hayat Tahrir in Syria show that the backers of Mr Al Assad, namely Russia and Iran, are distracted, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said during a Nato meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Al Assad's refusal to engage in any meaningful way in a process to solve the country's years-long political crisis is also what opened the door to the recent push by militant forces, Mr Blinken said.
Iran will consider sending troops to Syria if asked by the Syrian government, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday. Iran has backed Mr Al Assad throughout the civil war alongside Russia. Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters had already crossed into Syria on Monday.
Meanwhile, Russia and the US hurled terrorism charges at each other during a UN Security Council meeting convened on Tuesday over the sudden escalation in Syria. Deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood accused Mr Al Assad's troops and Russia of causing civilian casualties in attacks on schools and hospitals and called for a de-escalation of the fighting.
Russia is a key ally of Mr Al Assad. Its 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war turned the tide in his government's favour but the continuing Ukraine war has exhausted it of its military resources. The Syrian army and allied troops are also battling the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the country's eastern Deir Ezzor province.
“Large military reinforcements have arrived in the city of Hama to bolster the forces on the front lines and confront any attempted attack,” state news agency Sana reported, quoting a Syrian military source.
The Pentagon on Tuesday confirmed the US carried out a strike against military assets in eastern Syria after a rocket attack near one of its bases. The US military struck weapons systems, including three mobile rocket launchers and a T-64 tank after projectiles were launched towards US troops at Military Support Site Euphrates, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said.
There are about 900 US troops in Syria that focus on countering ISIS militants in the region.
Mr Wood also expressed concern that the militant offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir, saying “the fact HTS is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and UN does not justify the further atrocities by the Assad regime and its Russian backers”.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, on his part, criticised the US over what he called its unwillingness to “sincerely combat” international terrorism. “You were unable to summon the courage to condemn a clear terrorist attack undertaken against peaceful civilians in peaceful Syrian cities,” he added. “To be frank we are pleased that we are on opposite sides of the barricades right now from you.”
